A Dry Erase Masterpiece

This lesson is a unique approach to looking at and appreciating well-known pieces of art work using Crayola® Dry-Erase products. Cubicleism is an art form invented by Bill Taylor, a data manager. This lesson will also challenge students to think about what makes an artist and what jobs use art in their everyday operation.

Show students the work of Bill Taylor, an office worker who draws reproductions of famous works of art on his cubicle white board. He spends 2-5 minutes on his art every day and takes about 6 weeks to complete each work of art before taking a photo and erasing it. You can find a compilation of his works at www.cubicleism.wordpress.com .

Discuss as a class whether they feel Bill Taylor is a “real” artist or not. Some questions you might cover are: Do Artists need to work only on their own art or can they have another job? Do they need to create original pieces? Who are people in their community that create art? What jobs use art in their operation?

Have students choose a work of art that they would like to attempt to reproduce using dry-erase crayons. Students can work individually, in pairs, or small groups. Before drawing, have students analyze their chosen works. What do they see in the art? What do they like about it? What do they like less? How does the art make them feel? What does it remind them of? What techniques, types of colors, types of lines, etc. does the artist use? Students can present their opinions orally or in writing.

Provide students with a dry-erase board and Crayola® Dry-Erase crayons. Encourage students to reproduce their art with as much detail and color as possible.

After identifying the element that they like less in the known piece of art, challenge students to change it for something they feel suits the work better when recreating the work in dry-erase. Have students present their change to their peers and explain how and why they changed it.

Have the student research the artist that created the piece they reproduced and present on their works and life.

Have the students find another piece of art created by the same artist and compare and contrast the two images in terms of technique, mood, style, etc. Have students explain which piece they prefer and why.